Sports | jm images | photographer

Transitions03.08.11

The 2010-2011 PIAA wrestling season for my son came to an end Friday night. It was a tough end to a rough grinding sophomore season. Trey seemed okay with all of it. He was not happy to have the season end without a trip to Hershey, the location of the Pennsylvania State Championships, but he rebounds quickly and keeps everything in perspective. He is good like that. He thinks through challenges and works on finding what can help him advance the next time.

That is my son.

(This is Trey in his first wrestling tournament at age 5. )

(and this is Trey after his first wrestling season age 5. )

Me? Ahhhh, I have other issues. I did not fair so well this year as a dad of a wrestler. It finally hit me this season that Trey is fighting his own battles. He is going into competition and going it alone. I have come to understand this season that Trey is doing exactly what all fathers inspire their boys to be, what we want our boys to do. They learn to become men. Tough transition for me. My job is to protect Trey from harm and help him fight through battles. I have learned this year that he is fighting his own battles and learning from every win or loss. I have learned (the hard way) that I cannot fight his battles for him like I used to when he was 4 and 5. (There is a story about a certain play ground in Brookline, a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, where I had to actually defend myself and Trey from an overly aggressive father of a 6 year old. But that is a rather old story and one I would rather not bring up today) It is truly a bitter sweet moment.

(2010-2011 Sophomore year)

I hope that the next season is a little kinder to me than this season was. I know Trey will do fine and will progress on the mat without my help. He did a fine job this season without my help. I am not worried about Trey coping with these issues. I hope I can keep wandering the back walls of the gymnasium and not have my heart jump out of my chest as he is walking out onto the mat for battle. I hope I get to the point where I can sit in the stands and just cheer for Trey (not have my heart in my throat) and enjoy each match and watch him grow into an even better man on and off the mat.

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Slippery Rock High School, PA Senior (with a tad bit more information)10.12.10

I have known Kayla a long time. Mostly through the wrestling community here in PA. I have had the joy and pleasure of watching her grow into a great young lady and a fierce wrestler. Kayla will graduate from High school this year. We had been working on getting her portraits taken for most of the Summer but had not been able to connect. Seems she has been a little busy this Summer. So busy in fact that I had to travel to Cleveland, Ohio back in April for the 2010 USA /FILA Championships. The original post is here. But here are a few of her pics I captured.

Since then Kayla has been busy with the wrestling. In June she was ranked 3rd in the country at 51kg. not bad considering these are women’s rankings and she was still waiting to enter her senior year in high school. Before that she placed 3rd at the US World Team Trials. Traveled to Mexico and represented the US. then spent some time in Colorado at the Olympic Training Center located in Colorado Springs. She has done more then what I have posted, but I think you get the picture.

Soooooo, we finally got together the other evening for a short session in order to get her picture into the Yearbook. It was funny. Kayla is all rough and tumble and is on her way to becoming a world class athlete. Yet she is just this young student/athlete at a small high school and was excited/nervous about getting her picture taken. After a little chatting and some down time Kayla relaxed and was fun to photograph.

What was most interesting was her wish to be photographed in her Homecoming dress. What a transformation. From her battle wear on the mat to her homecoming wear that will be worn on the dance floor.

I am looking forward to our next photo session, when we have a little more time.

ADD A COMMENT|POSTED IN Portraits, Senior Portraits, Sports

USA Wrestling Open and FILA Junior Nationals 201004.26.10

I am a photographer that LOVES the sport of wrestling. Not the WWE with the actors, but honest to goodness wrestling! I was lucky enough to travel to Cleveland, Ohio this weekend and watch the best that the United States has to offer (USA Wrestling Open) and also watch a few local wrestlers compete on the big stage. I would have liked to have been on the floor during the earlier rounds but I did not score a Media pass until late in the day. But I did get to photograph our locals as they competed.

I believe that the fans of wrestling will be seeing a lot of these two athletes in the future. Kayla Brendlinger of PA (51K/112.25lbs) will be a force to deal with in the future. (She competed in the women’s open division) The thing to remember is that Kayla is a Junior in High school and much of the competition are in their mid 20′s. Keep an eye out!

I also got some shots of a wrestler that will also be making some noise in the future in the NCAA Division I rankings and on the International scene in the years to come. It has been a real treat to watch Caleb Kolb progress over the years and to have him be a local PA kid as well.

2 COMMENTS|POSTED IN Personal, Sports

Time to get out your brooms and stones02.10.10

I love Greco Roman Wrestling!

I enjoy watching the UFC and MMA. I watch football and enjoy baseball from time to time. (Although, I never really fully recovered from “the play” back in 1992 UGH!) These sports are not what I would call geek sports but more of a manly sort of thing. That being said, I love this time of year. Or every four years I suppose. It is the Winter Olympics that I get to let my geek out! No, it is not ice skating or ice dancing. Not that those are bad sports, I just don’t really like watching ice skating. What I like watching is the sport of curling! Not that curling is the most physical sport in the Olympics nor is it one of the most popular events in which the USA competes, but it is one that is really cool to figure out. Sort of like horse shoes and shuffleboard with a side of bowling. It looks rather boring at times I agree, but sometimes there is drama and explosive throws. It is a team effort and it really does get exciting at times.

So after a long day of work, and you notice that curling is on channel 862 on ESPN 9 surf to the channel and enjoy a little drama and cheer on our USA team!

Until then, check this out and hang on to your hats!

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Off day from photography09.24.09

So I am doing things around the house today. Well, as soon as my father-in-law pulls up I will be doing things around the house. Until then I decided, against my better judgment, to look up my beleaguered Pirates. It took all of 30 seconds to realize this was a bad idea.

When "the play" happened in the final game of the 1992 NLCS (when "he who will not be mentioned" tossed a lollipop to LaValliere as Sid Bream was gimping around third base to end my beloved Pirates World Series run) I knew that the end of the Pirates had come. To add insult to injury I found this this morning. I knew a lot of this, but it just hurts.

I found this at this link.

Post subject: Pirates' Fun Facts

Posted: 08 Sep 2009 13:43 pm

From ESPN.com Page 2:

On Monday the Pittsburgh Pirates lost their 82nd game of the season,
clinching a 17th consecutive losing season — a record for any major
professional sport. Here are 17 Pirates facts about the past 17 years:

1. Best record since 1993: 79-83 (in 1997).

2. The last time the Pirates had a winning record, Miley Cyrus hadn't been born yet.

3. 2002 No. 1 overall draft pick: Bryan Bullington.

4. Times finished better than fourth place in the past 17 seasons: 3.

5. Times with 70 wins or more in the past 17 seasons: 7.

6. The last time the Pirates had a winning team, Johnny Carson and "The Cosby Show" were still on NBC.

7. 1994 All-Star representative: 2B Carlos Garcia (.277 BA, 6 HR, 28 RBI)

8. Since 2006, Tiger Woods has a better winning percentage than the Pirates.

9. Franchise savior: Chad Hermansen.

10. Franchise savior: Sean Casey.

11. Franchise savior: Adam LaRoche.

12. There are millions of people with driver's licenses in Pennsylvania who have never seen a winning Pirates team.

13. 2003: Pirates trade Aramis Ramirez and Kenny Lofton to the Cubs for Jose Hernandez, Matt Bruback and Bobby Hill.

14. The last time the Pirates had a winning season, Brett Favre was making his debut for the Packers.

15. 2007: Pirates acquire Matt Morris and his $10 million per year salary at the trade deadline.

16. 100-loss seasons since 1993: Only 1! In 2001!

17. The Pirates have to finish 9-17 or better (unlikely) to avoid another 100-loss season.

and so it goes….. Hope my father in law gets here quick before I find a youtube clip of "the play".

ADD A COMMENT|POSTED IN Personal, Sports

Sixburgh, PA.02.02.09

All I can say is WOW! What a finish to the 2008-2009 football season! My Stillers' pulled it off with 35 seconds to go in the game! SIX Championships!!! Everything you could ever want in a game happened! Interceptions for touchdowns, sacks, hard hits, and graceful catches in the far far corner of the endzone. Drama, humor and edgy plays were the mix to make this XLIII Superbowl one to go down in history as one of the greatest games ever played. Ahhh… life is good.

2 COMMENTS|POSTED IN Sports

Mercer Wrestling Tournament12.23.08

I shot a lot on Sunday! If you have never experienced a junior wrestling tournament you are missing out on a real experience. I have been attending these for the past 12 years or so. Not as a photographer, but as a coach and as a parent. Sometimes both. This time I was attending as a photographer and it takes on an entirely different feel and experience. I got to "see" what goes into a very long and trying day for the coaches, parents and most importantly, the kids that are wrestling.

I hope you enjoy just a few of the hundreds of shots I took Sunday. I also hope you go away with an appreciation of how much these kids go through during the 3 to 4 minute matches. Win or lose these kids go through emotions from pure joy to pure disappointment and from pure energy to total exhaustion. Then, a little while longer they do it all over again.

Please enjoy!

2 COMMENTS|POSTED IN Sports

No comment12.18.08

I am afraid to look to see when the last time I posted here. (looks anyways) WOW!

Well, it has been a whirlwind here lately and honestly, I have not had the time to enter a post, let alone a somewhat thought out post. I am happy to announce that the 2008-2009 wrestling season is in full swing! My son Trey, a Junior High 122 pound wrestler, is 2-0 thus far in the early part of the season. He has had one fairly easy match (last week, score of 9-0) and a very tough, almost let it slip away, match last night. (2-1) The match was even closer than the score indicates. But both my son and his opponent were PA State place winners last year, and that's is what makes great matches. The really cool thing is that both of these kids are good friends off of the mat. I like the fact they they both let it all out on the mat and then can shake off the win/disappointment and be buddies. The true meaning of sportsmanship I think can be seen through my son Trey and his opponent/friend Austin.

IF you are so inclined, feel free to jump to this site and take a look around. I put a wrestling site together for the team and it looks darn good. (Considering they did not have a site until last season) I will try to have someone take it over in a year or two. It is a lot of work when you are trying to grow a business, be a dad, husband, and keep involved in the sport of wrestling. At any rate take a look! Grove City wrestling.

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Wrestling Season is here!11.19.08

As you all know, I have a certain fondness, or I ought to say, passion for the sport of amateur wrestling. It is a sport of total domination and pure athletic ability working together at the same time. I think of it as malicious poetry. Janet, my wife, thinks I go a bit overboard with that description but that is how I see the sport.

Anyway, the season was kicked off Monday the 17th here in Pennsylvania. The first day of practice. This means that matches and tournaments are right around the corner! The local rankings are just about ready to be published and the national rankings are being discussed on local chat boards. NCAA duals are getting into full swing and we can now follow our favorite NCAA teams! Penn State, Kent State, Edinboro University and now Nebraska (for personal reasons) are the teams I tend to follow the closest and sometimes make me not sleep well at nights. (i.e. Penn State losing to Hofstra just a few days ago? ? ? ) Tough loss for the Lions.

After coaching wrestling for years I am now slowly getting back to the mat. Not as a head coach or an assistant, just as a guest clinician. I enjoy helping out the elementary kids. Tons of energy and a lot of excitement to learn the sport. How can that not be fun? My first official coaching quest is tonight at 5PM. To different groups, so it is double the fun!

In the event you care to look at the group I deal with and what we are doing here is the link to the website. I am also the "webmaster" of the Grove City Wrestling site as well as a fan.

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11/4/0811.04.08

***Election day is here! I have done my part by going out to vote. Now, maybe the ads on the television and radio will go away! Elections are not that bad if you can keep the televisions off and the radio turned down low. Shewww…..just glad to see the election is at the end. Now for the exit polling (sigh), experts' thoughts and ramblings and the dreaded finger pointing after tonight. But, at least the ads will go away.

***Funny how things work. Wrestling season is right around the corner, my favorite time of the year, and the Mandatory Meeting was held at 6:00PM. After the coaches said their piece the wrestling boosters had a quick meeting on the voting of new officers. As it turned out, I went to the meeting as an average wrestling parent and walked out as booster president. I am still not sure how it happened as it was all a blur. My name was brought up, and all of a sudden BAMB!

***Looks like my fantasy football nemesis is coming back to haunt me. A few years ago I belonged to a Fantasy Football League. I was in first place. All of a sudden my QB was out for 2 weeks and we had 3 weeks left in he season. My back-up was Byron Leftwich. Well, needless to say I ended up in 3rd place and was out of the Championship game. It was Byron's fault. He threw something like 5 INTs in those 3 weeks and was just miserable. Fast forward 4 years or so. Ben Rothlesburger leaves the game with a shoulder injury last night against the skins. Who is the Steelers back-up…..yup…ol' Byron. And here is my issue. I love the Steelers! Love them. Somehow I need to get over my feelings of Leftwich and try to stay positive that he can get the job done and help my beloved Steelers through this until Ben can return. I just do not know if I can feel good with Leftwich at the helm. Stay tuned.

ADD A COMMENT|POSTED IN Current Affairs, frustration, Sports